Muzaffarpur: Luscious litchis will hit the market by May 25 this year.

Spells of easterly winds lashing north Bihar have raised hopes of a bumper harvest. The winds have helped fruits acquire the distinctive pink colour, thereby signalling early plucking of the reputable Shahi variety of litchis.

"The litchi growers are being educated and requested to go for extensive spraying of insecticides. It is high time to protect the fruit from the palpable threat of insects," said Vishal Nath, the director of National Research Centre for Litchi, Mushahri, in Muzaffarpur.

"Once the farmers protect the fruits from the insects, it is bound to get enriches and hence, fetch lucrative income for buyers. Normally, insects attack the fruits during the lashing of easterly winds. It is strange that the westerly wind is missing nowadays," said the director.

However, the fruit is saved from sunburn and cracks, which generally occur once the westerly wind lashes. The litchi crops endured smart rain twice in April. So the crop gained ground during post-nut setting phase. As the soil is already wet and the farmers are informed not to water trees. Litchi orchards should be kept clean too.

A litchi farmer, Bholanath Jha, said: "The Shahi variety will be costlier in the market this time as the China variety is a bit late to be plucked. So the buyers will have to cough up to Rs 100 per kg although more than three lakh tonnes of litchis are expected to be produced in Muzaffarpur and adjoining districts of north Bihar."

Muzaffarpur alone produces one lakh tonne this season. Sources said big buyers belonging to New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Kanpur and Maharashtra have camped here to hire the litchi orchards and send the consignments to the national markets.

A litchi buyer from Punjab, Satya Singh, said: "On an average, litchis packed in paper and wooden cartons on tentatively 25 trucks will be sent to the national market to cater to the demand for this tropical fruits."